Quote Originally Posted by Daria View Post
Aside from something like Dark Souls or Shin Megami Tensei Nocturne RPGs aren't really "hard". They might be grindy, cryptic, or have a brief learning curve but prohibited by skill? No. I also don't believe in "beginner's RPGs" as I don't think they're necessary. Most people that love the genre do so because they found a game that resonated with them and they keep trying to recreate the experience. The whole point of the article was the show that all you really need to get hooked on the genre is a solid game. People who love RPGs (and hey they're not for everyone) fell in love with a great game, doesn't matter what the title was, but to them it was a great game. No one ever quotes Mario & Luigi as being their favorite games. A fun diversion yes? But I don't know of any die hard Mario & Luigi fans. Non RPG gamers might enjoy them, but I don't think they're likely to convert someone into becoming an enthusiast of the genre.

Basically I made of list of games with qualities that I feel outweigh the inherent "flaws" of the genre. If you play these 5 and hate them, I'm willing to bet you won't like any traditional RPGs.

Paper Mario almost made my list though. :P
DQ8 and Skies of Arcadia are 2 of the few rpgs that I actually enjoyed and finished. But I certainly wouldn't recommend them to a "noob". And I really can't stand rpgs, even though I've tried numerous games.

Well, I didn't think this topic was about "great rpgs" that's why I mentioned Mario+Luigi. Who cares if people don't call them they're favorite all-time games? They're simplified action-orientated rpgs that don't convolute things with unnecessary menus and gameplay that actually requires some gameplay. Not just clicking through menus and upgrading your characters with +2def and -1off armors, and other such nonsense.

You're not going to win any new fans with random battles. That concept is so outdated and asinine. DQ came out like 30 years ago yet they still make games with this bullshit. Grindy rpgs will get no love from "noobs" either. Who the hell has time to sit there and fight hundreds of monsters just to see their stats go up a level? Not to mention the boringness of fighting the same enemies over and over again. You'd better have an extremely fun battle system in place if your game requires grind. It might also help if there were an rpg without that overly cutesy anime fluff. Not everybody likes that art style. It's nice to be able to distinguish male characters from female.